Workforce Investment Act: New Requirements Create Need for More Guidance. Statement of Sigurd R. Nilsen, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues, before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, U.S. Senate.

Nilsen, Sigurd R.

An evaluation was conducted to assess progress in implementing the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 (which sought to streamline the delivery of employment and training services) during its first full year ending in June 2001. Data were gathered through contact with 12 national associations representing state and local implementers, visits to 9 one-stop centers in 6 areas in 3 states, and meetings with officials and review of documents from the 4 federal agencies that house the mandatory partner programs. The study found that state and local implementers have faced challenges during the early stages of WIA implementation because of the significant changes to the work force system that WIA introduced. Mandatory partners have wrestled with their concerns about how to participate in one-stops without adversely affecting their respective target populations, violating their own programs' rules, or straining their financial resources. Training providers have struggled to find ways to meet WIA's data collection and reporting requirements, and as a result, have reduced the course offerings they make available to WIA job seekers. Private-sector members of work force investment boards have grappled with their concerns that their input is diluted by staff and committees set up to facilitate board operations. The study recommends that the various federal agencies work together to provide more effective guidance to address the concerns raised by state and local implementers and provide more time for training providers to adjust to the data collection and reporting requirements. (KC)